Back when it originally released, the original Mortal Kombat was a smash hit, and was extremely successful for not just a new game, but for a new direct competitor for Street Fighter II. The game sold millions, with home versions selling over 6 million copies, and it not only managed to gain a massive fanbase worldwide, but was also a direct contributor to the creation of the ESRB rating system. Not many other games can claim to have changed the industry forever like that, and it was clear from this success that Mortal Kombat was gonna be not just a new mainstay for Midway, but also for the fighting genre as a whole. So, despite them originally planning on making a Star Wars game next, Ed Boon and John Tobias were then put to work on making a sequel almost immediately, and this next game was aiming to be bigger and better than the original in every way, making things even more bloody and fun. Thus, just one year after the first game, the world was then given a second helping of gore and violence with Mortal Kombat II.

Out of all the classic Mortal Kombat games, this is definitely the one I had heard about the most, not only being considered the best of the original trilogy, but also one of the best fighting games of all time. Just like with the original Mortal Kombat, I hadn’t really played too much of MKII before, only playing it in short bursts at barcades, but not really getting anywhere past that. So, I decided to finally tackle it properly, and yeah, I would say that the game definitely deserves the reputation it has. It is better than the original game in every way, being one of the best classic arcade fighters I have ever played, and while it does have its issues, none of that stopped me from having a bloody good time with it.

The story, on the surface, is pretty simple, with Shao Kahn, the true emperor of Outworld, sparing and deaging Shang Tsung while making a brand new fighting tournament to try to take over Earthrealm, and so Liu Kang, along with many other fighters, step up to the plate to try to take down Shao Kahn, with there also being plenty of other separate plot details accompanying it with each characters’ separate story, making the story a simple, yet enjoyable follow-up to the original game, the graphics are very similar to the original game, but it does look better then the first game, having much more detail given to the environments, characters, and fatalities that you can perform, the music is pretty good once again, having plenty of tracks that fit the environments very well, and it gets you pumped up to kick some more ass, the control is still somewhat stiff, but it does feel better to play when compared to the previous game, with more moves that you can pull off this time, and the gameplay takes what was introduced in the previous game, and is expanded upon more and more to make an undeniably superior sequel.

The game is a classic arcade fighting game, where you take control of one of five of the previous games combatants (along with Reptile and Shang Tsung, because why not), as well as five new challengers that would become mainstays in the Mortal Kombat series, take on another opponent in plenty of different stages with the feel of death permeating through them, throw out various punches, hits, and combos to your opponent to beat them down before they even knew what was coming, perform a brutal Fatality to prove that you are the superior fighter and a force to be reckoned with, and climb up the ladder of opponents until you are able to reach Shao Kahn himself. In many ways, a lot of what was introduced in the first game remains unchanged, but again, much like many great sequels, this game takes all of what was great about the original Mortal Kombat, refines many of its best elements, and adds plenty more to it.

If I were to describe this game in one simple sentence, I would just say it was Mortal Kombat but MORE. There are more characters, more stages, more moves you can pull off, more fatalities, more bosses to get your ass kicked by, and more secret characters that you can face off against if you know what you are doing. It may feature the same means of progression as the first game, but with many different characters to use and many different moves to pull off, there is a lot more to see and do in Mortal Kombat II. Not to mention, the game itself plays just as well as the original, if not better. The movement can still be a little stiff, and it definitely as smooth or fast as other fighters, but it does feel a lot more satisfying and quick to control, with plenty of violence to accompany the combat to add to that same feel of satisfaction, along with the sound effects adding a lot to it. I’m sure many of us who have played this game are quite familiar with the many screams and grunts that the characters will let out when they get hit, and even for those who haven’t played any Mortal Kombat game, you may be quite familiar with the phrase “GET OVER HERE!”, which is still one of the most famous video game lines to this day.

Of course, the fatalities are brought back in this game, and they are without a doubt a MASSIVE improvement over the original game. The original fatalities were still pretty good, but the ones we get in Mortal Kombat II are much better and bloodier, with some of my personal favorites being one where Kung Lao uses his hat to slice an opponent in half, showing broken ribs and all, and one where Liu Kang straight up turns into a MOTHERFUCKING DRAGON, and he then chomps off the top half of the opponent's body. How can you not love something like that? Not to mention, in this game, you could now perform multiple fatalities per character rather then just being limited to just one. For example, with Mileena, you can either use your sai to constantly stab through your opponent in one violent burst of fury, or you can take off your mask and suck up your opponent into your big-teethed mouth, only to then spit out their bones all onto the ground next to you. The choice is yours! And finally, there are more stage fatalities that you can perform as well, such as knocking your opponent into the pit of acid surrounding you in a level, knocking them into the spikes hanging on the ceiling in a level, or just knocking them off to where they slam on the ground far below you. They may be simple, but they are still satisfying to pull off.

But if you think that the Fatalities are all this game has to offer in terms of finishers, then you would be wrong! Two new different types of finishers were introduced in this game, which aren’t as violent as fatalities, but they are still just as fun to see and pull off. The first of these new finishers are the Babalities, where you turn your opponent into…. a baby. Yeah. Not exactly sure how this kind of finisher came into existence, but again, it is still one that is hilarious to pull off, and extremely satisfying, turning your opponent into a big ol’ crying baby, literally. In addition to this, there are now also Friendships, where instead of killing your opponent or turning them into a baby, you perform an act of friendship that is also funny and charming to see in action, such as with Shang Tsung creating a rainbow out of thin air to show how friendly and pro-equality he is, Baraka offering his opponent a gift rather then his blades of fury, and Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Reptile each advertising their own doll versions of themselves that you can now buy at your local Wal-Mart or Outworld store. They may be stupid, but they are incredibly enjoyable to see, and are some of my favorite finishers in any fighting game that I have ever seen.

Now, with all of that out of the way, I can’t pretend that Mortal Kombat II is a perfect sequel, even though it is very close to being so. Once again, just like with the original game, this game has a severe case of fighting game syndrome, where many of the opponents you will face will be incredibly overpowered compared to you, and will make sure to kick your ass all around the arena and leave you as a bloody corpse at any chance they get. Of course, it is still doable, but you are gonna need to bring your A-game if you wanna even stand a chance against these opponents. In addition, while I do love a lot of the fatalities that are present in this game, a lot of them do feel repetitive when you compare them all. A lot of them either involve you either slicing or punching someone’s head off, and slicing or chomping their body in half. I may be a simple man who claps when limbs go flying and blood goes pitter patter, but I also would like a touch more variety in these fatalities, or at least, a little more then what we already got in this game. Then again, those things I previously mentioned are merely just minor complaints, as this is still a pretty solid follow-up all around.

Overall, despite a somewhat repetitive nature with some fatalities and fighting game syndrome still very much being a thing, Mortal Kombat II is a fantastic follow-up to its bloody predecessor, and one of the best classic arcade fighting games that I have ever played. It is clear why many regard this to be the best of the original MK games, and it will definitely be one I come back to if I am in the mood to beat someone’s face in for a half-hour. I would definitely recommend it for those who are big Mortal Kombat fans, as well as those who are fans of fighting games in general, because while it may not be as content-packed or creative as future installments, it still provides a great, bloody spectacle that will provide fun for plenty of time, and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. Man, now that I have gotten through this game, I can’t wait until we get to Mortal Kombat 3! I’m sure that game will be even better than this one, and have plenty of new stuff to introduce to the series as well…………. Right?

Game #431

by far one of the worst endings I had the displeasure of encountering in a video game, everything else was mostly fine, but after I followed all of Flowey's orders, the game blocks me from proceeding to what Flowey wants me to do and forces me to talk to the annoying bird (which I tried to kill before, yet this time I don't get the chance?) and betray Flowey

what's the point of giving me options then? "oh but the genocide route exists" isn't an excuse to make such a bad normal ending, the only thing differentiating my run from a genocide run is that I didn't walk back and forth killing random encounters for like 20 mins for no reason, if you don't want to give me the genocide route, fine, but at least make a more appropriate neutral route, not one that completely flips the personality of the characters

For anyone who has ever played any kind of mobile game before, you may or may not be familiar with the “runner” genre of games. These games were pretty simple, where you just simply ran forward endlessly, dodging plenty of obstacles and gaining plenty of items and powerups, while also trying to get the highest score you possibly could. While most of the time, these games are pretty brainless, and they usually have microtransactions up the wazoo, these can be a fun little distraction when done right, hence why they have become one of the most popular mobile game genres. With all that being said though, runner games didn’t start out on mobile phones, as they have been a thing for a very long time, with one of the earliest and more noteworthy examples of a runner video game being with Atomic Runner Chelnov, or just Atomic Runner.

I had known about this game for a little bit now, and I had always wanted to try it out for myself. Not only did it look decent enough to give a shot, but since it was one of the first runner games ever made, I wanted to see how exactly it played and if it held up all the way to this day. So, like I do with all of the games I review on this website, I decided to give it the ol’ college try, and after getting through most of it, I can come to the conclusion that… I cannot fucking stand it. Don’t get me wrong, it is a very unique and interesting game for the time, and one that can be fun in short bursts, but if you actually try to beat the game like I did, you will find the sinister nature of this game that dwells within as a result.

The story is along the lines of your typical comic book superhero plot, which works out well here, given how the game is initially presented to you, and how the story also presents itself (even though it scrolls by so fast you won’t be able to read it), the graphics are good, being good enough for the time that it came out for the arcades, but nothing about the game’s look is really eye-catching compared to other titles, the music is alright, having plenty of decent tracks to accompany you as you run through these stages, but it is nothing that will stick with you afterwards, the control is a little frustrating to get the hang of, especially when it comes to turning yourself from left to right while running, but you can get used to it eventually, and it is good for what it is, and the gameplay is pretty simple, yet innovative for the time, while also being incredibly frustrating too.

The game is a 2D runner game, where you take control of the Atomic Runner, go through seven different auto-scrolling levels, shoot down many of the enemies around you while constantly on the go, making sure to turn around and jumping when you need to, gather plenty of different weapons and powerups to increase your power and range of fire to help against the foes you will face, and take on plenty of bosses that are not part of any running sections, but will still test your running, jumping, shooting, and turning skills. For the most part, it is basically a typical arcade platformer, but of course with the main gimmick of having the player constantly moving at all times. Once again, for the time, this was a pretty neat idea for a game, but that doesn’t make the game any better in my eyes.

This may just be one of the most frustrating arcade games that I have ever played, and this is coming from someone who has played A LOT of hard as fuck arcade games. Sure, a lot of it is stuff that is typical for an arcade game, such as countless enemies being thrown at you, along with level design that can make going through some levels way harder than it needs to, but what adds onto all of this is the fact that you are constantly running. Because of this, you are given little to no time to plan before you are thrown into the fire, which may result in you either getting a lucky run and blazing through the enemies no problem, or, in the most likely of scenarios, you will die over and over and over and over again. It is nothing that is impossible, don’t get me wrong, but with the amount that this game throws at you at once, coupled with the fact that you die when taking only one hit, and you have a game that really shows no mercy on many occasions.

Now, that’s not to say that I completely hated Atomic Runner, because that is not true. I do like a lot of what this game has going for it, with the powerups being fun to experiment with, the feeling of blazing through enemies with a fully upgraded weapon being very satisfying, the movement of the runner being pretty responsive for most of the journey, and of course, the whole concept of the game being one that really is admirable for 1988. But unfortunately, when you take a typical case of arcade syndrome and combine it together with a game that is constantly auto-scrolling, I can’t say that that combination makes for a good time, and it certainly doesn’t make me wanna try to beat it anytime soon.

Overall, despite the fun power-ups you can use and, once again, the concept being inventive for the time, Atomic Runner was just too frustrating for me to really get behind, and it is definitely one of my least favorite games that I have played from Data East’s catalog. I would recommend it for those who are fans of arcade games, as well as those who are familiar with the runner genre, but for everyone else, there are definitely much better runners and arcade platformers that you could try out instead. But hey, if I had to give the game credit for one thing, I can’t think of any other titles that were mistaken for being a parody of the Chernobyl disaster. Slap that on your game box.

Game #432

Anyone who is at least somewhat familiar with the video game industry, or at least has been around long enough to play quite a few games, knows that there is a plague that has existed in the medium for many years. It isn’t a malicious plague, like microtransactions, live-service games, or the entirety of Blizzard Entertainment, no no. Nothing as bad as those. However, it has still been around for decades at this point, still getting support to this day, and that plague takes the form of a genre known as… sports games. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that all sports games are bad, because that is not true. There have been plenty of sports games out there that can be pretty fun, whether they are spun-off from an already popular franchise, or if they are just simply one-off products that managed to grow in popularity. However, most of the time, these are some of the most generic, bottom of the barrel products you could ever possibly find on a video game system. So I figured, just for the lols, shits, and giggles, I would go ahead and take a look at one of these titles to see if they really are that bad, with the title I chose being FIFA International Soccer.

Anyone who has heard the letters E and A put together at some point in their lives most likely are aware of the FIFA franchise, being a series of soccer games that have been pumped out non-stop, all the way from the early 90’s to 2022, where the series ultimately concluded… only to then be replaced by EA Sports FC 24 just a year later, because we can never truly escape from this series. Now, I myself have never played any sort of FIFA game, nor any other sports title from EA, because I am a normal human being who likes maintaining his mental health, but I have always been somewhat… curious about them. I mean, surely there must be SOME appeal with these games if they aim to keep making one every single year, and a bunch of braindead consumers keep buying them. So, I decided to try one out for myself, and… yep. It certainly is a soccer game, alright.

The graphics are pretty good for what it is, looking colorful and vibrant enough, not just with the main sprites and field, but also for the crowd and the animations of the players, the music is mostly non-existant, with the game mainly relying on crowd noises for most of the matches to add a sense of “realism”, making things more creepy then it should at times, but when there is music there, it is nice enough, the control is pretty confusing, specifically for someone like me who doesn’t typically play soccer games, but whenever you do get the hang of it, it works fine enough, and the gameplay is… basically exactly what you would expect. Nothing there to really wow you.

The game is a soccer game, where you take control of a soccer team from whatever country you choose, take on another team from an opposing country on the field, kick around a big ol’ ball a bunch of times to try to get it into the other team’s goal, fight off your opponents and try to take the ball back whenever you can, and rub your victory in the other team’s face, making yourself feel proud for being the best at a sports game that nobody else has played for over two and a half decades. You get the full soccer experience with this game, along with all of the additions that comes with it, and let me tell you… it certainly is soccer. Can you tell I’m having a hard time trying to describe this game?

For a soccer game from the early 90s, it has plenty of features that you would typically expect from one of these games, and they do get the job done for those curious enough to give the game a shot. There are four primary modes that you can play, each one being a different variation of your typical soccer game, consisting of Exhibitions, Tournaments, Playoffs, and Leagues, and if any of you are familiar with soccer in any kind of capacity, then I definitely don’t need to explain to you what any of those are. Even if they all change up the gameplay slightly, they all function practically the same, and they can be fun for a little bit if you are the type of person who enjoys these games. Not to mention, to its credit, the game does its job well enough. The rules of soccer are well implemented, it plays fine enough, and it does feel good whenever you make a goal. But for me… I really just couldn’t get into it. Not surprising at all, but it might as well be said anyway.

The biggest problem that this game has is that it is a soccer game from the early 90’s. There isn’t anything really wrong with the game itself, but if you were wanting to play a soccer game, there are MANY different options that have been made ever since this game came out, each of them improving on what this game did in many different ways (at least, I assume they did anyway), so if you are going to play any of these games, this would be the LAST option that you would pick. This especially brings the game down for me, because at the end of the day, I still didn’t end up really liking it. I will admit, I completely sucked at it, having no clue what I was doing for a good amount of time, but at the same time, even if I did get any better at the game, I probably wouldn’t enjoy it anymore. I just simply am not the type of person who plays sports games, and for those who do play and enjoy a lot of them, then you may get some enjoyment out of this, but for me, that will probably never be the case.

Overall, despite my personal opinion on it and how it is incredibly outdated, the original FIFA game is perfectly fine as is, having no huge flaws that drag it down anymore other than just being extremely generic for the type of game that it is. I would recommend it for those who are fans of sports games, especially those who are fans of old-school ones, because you will probably find enough to like and enjoy about this title, but for everyone else, you would be much better off playing any of the newer soccer games that have released ever since. Or, you know, you could take the best possible option and just DON’T play any of these games, so that EA doesn’t get any of your money. Although, I will admit, when I heard the EA Sports jingle when I started this game up, I did chuckle like a giddy bitch. What can I say, I love the memes.

Game #433

I picked this up on the hope that the internet was exaggerating and that it was at least entertainingly bad. It is not, it just sucks. In three hours of "playing," I think I actually played for closer to an hour. The incredibly slow opening keeps taking away control for cutscenes and tutorials, and it's awful. Every time I thought I was going to get a chance to actually play and maybe even enjoy it, control was taken away again. Just genuinely awful. Cannot recommend this, even for the meme of it.

While the original arcade version of the original Bubble Bobble was popular and successful enough on its own, its NES port was also just as successful and considered one of the best games on the system. Obviously, there were plenty of changes that could make this version of that game undesirable in comparison to the arcade version, such as with the worse graphics, sound, the slower speed, and the floatiness that was present, but none of that was able to drag it down any further, and it is still seen as many as one of the best co-op games on the system, and one that I myself still have fun with playing whenever I decide to give it a go. The port was also extremely successful as well, to the point where, five years after it had came out, Taito decided to make a direct sequel to it on not just the NES, but also the Game Boy……. even though at this point, there already was both a Bubble Bobble 2 and 3, but again, I don’t think they really care about that sort of thing. This sequel would eventually come out and simply be known as Bubble Bobble Part 2.

When I initially went into this game, I hadn’t really known much about it other then, much like other Taito games like Panic Restaurant and Little Samson, this was one of the rarest games on the NES, with used copies for the game going for at least $400+ on online retailers. Then again, the price of a game doesn’t automatically determine what its quality is gonna be, because a game like Color a Dinosaur may be worth hundreds of dollars, but it is still a dumb baby game that should be ashamed of itself. So, I went into it with minor expectations, and what I ended up finding was a game that was somewhat of an improvement of the original game, but in comparison, it wasn’t really anything too special in comparison. That being said, it is still a great late NES title, one that does introduce new elements to improve on the base gameplay of the original, but also does other stuff that also kinda drags it down a bit.

The story is basically the equivalent of the free space on a Bingo card for any NES game, where a girl named Judy, who is friends with Bub and Bob, gets kidnapped by the nefarious Skull Brothers while also transforming them back into dinos, so it is up to them to go save her and turn themselves back to normal, which is pretty basic for both a sequel and an NES game, but it is still a fine plot nonetheless, the graphics are definitely a step-up from the original game, with there being much more variety in terms of the colors and designs of enemies and bosses, making it look really nice when compared to other titles on the system, the music is an improvement over the original as well, having plenty of different upbeat tracks for many of the different worlds that you go to, and they are nice to listen to (plus, it also helps that there isn’t just one track on loop for most of the game), the control is about the same as the original game, so not much more to say about that, and the gameplay is pretty similar to the original game, but with enough bells and whistles added to make it just that little bit superior.

The game is a 2D platformer, where you take control of either Bub or Bob, take on a set of four worlds each containing around 20 rounds each, blow plenty of bubbles to trap many enemies, allowing you to them defeat them and collect the many whimsical remains of their bodies along the way, like shaved ice and peppers, gather plenty of different powerups and health items to assist you on taking down these enemies along the way, and defeat plenty of bosses that will provide somewhat of a challenge, which is quite an improvement over the original game’s one and only boss at the end. For the most part, it is all the same song and dance that you have come to expect from a Bubble Bobble sequel, but there is a little more in there aside from the additional bosses to make it stand out.

First off, you now have a new health bar, which you can fill up by getting hearts throughout the levels, which makes it so that you don’t always die in one hit, obviously. It’s not that much of a big change, but it is one that is appreciated regardless, and one that makes getting through the game somewhat easier as a result. In addition to this, you also have a new ability in the game where you can hold a bubble in your mouth, causing you to inflate and start to float up like a balloon, allowing you to reach certain areas that you couldn’t access before and possibly even reach certain enemies as well. Not only is this a nice little addition to your very limited moveset, but it also is essential for progressing through the game, as there were plenty of stages that did require the use of this ability. It is cool to see them make these levels built around this mechanic, even if the mechanic itself can be a bit difficult to get the hang of in certain circumstances.

All of that is well and good, but at the end of the day, this game is mostly just another Bubble Bobble game. There isn’t too much here that makes it stand out in comparison to the original aside from the new graphical look, sound, and bosses, so if you weren’t necessarily a fan of how the original game played, then it is highly likely that this sequel isn’t gonna do anything to convince you otherwise. Also, while most of the game is generally improved over the original game, the co-op received a downgrade in comparison, where now you have to take turns when you choose co-op, unlike the original game where you could play simultaneous co-op. I guess you could say that the game maybe a little too graphically intense to allow for simultaneous co-op, but this was released in 1993, really late into the NES’s lifespan, so I’m sure that they could’ve easily found a way to implement that, but that sadly isn’t the case.

Overall, despite everything mostly remaining the same as the original, as well as the lack of simultaneous co-op, this is still what I would consider to be the better game over the original Bubble Bobble, one that adds just enough to make it feel more complete and appealing, but one that isn’t gonna give the original a run for its money. I would definitely recommend it for those who are fans of the Bubble Bobble series, especially the original NES title, as well as those who like Taito’s later NES games like Little Samson and Panic Restaurant, because you will probably get a good amount of fun from this game, whether you aim to beat it or otherwise. But again, like with those other games, don’t try to find a physical copy of it, because let's face it, you aren’t gonna be getting one without paying hundreds of dollars. Unless you already have a copy, in which case, I may or may not be paying a visit to your house sometime in the future. No reason in particular, don’t worry.

Game #425

At this point in the Gradius series, we have had, what, three to four different sub-series that have spawned from it at this point? There is, of course, the mainline Gradius games that basically started the whole thing, then there is the Salamander/Life Force series that treats itself like a spin-off even though it is almost identical in terms of gameplay, then we have the Nemesis series for the MSX, which were following up the original Gradius, and if we add both Parodius and Scramble on top of all of that………. yeah, this series is way too confusing, and this was only five years after it properly started. So, with all that in mind, how about we add yet another sub-series on top of that! That won’t make things even more confusing than it already was before! And just to add more flame to the fire, we will give it the same name as the original game, so that people will be confused on whether or not it is a port or an original game! Man, game development is fun. Anyway, after this insane thought process was brought into consideration, we were then given Nemesis on the Game Boy.

Going into this game was somewhat interesting for me, because we have already had plenty of Gradius games at this point, but we never had one that was specifically made for a handheld system before, so I was wondering how it would hold up in comparison to a main arcade/console title. At the same time though, I was also going in with very average expectations, as I definitely wasn’t expecting anything too special from the title. So, now that I have fully played through it, I can say that…. yep. It certainly is a Gradius game for the Game Boy. It was a good game, and it will definitely please diehard fans of the series, but it is also pretty basic at this point in the series, and it doesn’t do anything too new for the series at that point.

The graphics are Game Boy graphics, and it doesn’t look quite as good as other titles for the system, but for what it is worth, the sprites for the bosses and some of the enemies are pretty good, and it does at least look like a Gradius game, the music is pretty good, with there being a handful of appropriately sounding tracks that do make it feel like you are playing a Gradius game, but none of the tracks really match the same level as those from the main arcade/console games, the control is pretty much what you would expect from a Gradius game, and the speed that you can reach is good enough, even if it is expectedly very choppy considering what system you are playing it on, and the gameplay is extremely basic for a Gradius title, but there are some additions that make the game more fun and even accessible.

The game is a horizontal scrolling space shooter, where you take control of the Vic Viper once again, take on a set of only five different levels, shoot up everything and anything that will get in your way and try to turn you into an explosive, blazing inferno, while also doing your best to dodge plenty of obstacles along the way as well, gather plenty of powerups that you can use to activate certain upgrades for yourself which will assist you against the many threats that you will encounter, and take on several familiar, yet challenging bosses that will test your dodging and shooting skills. All of it is basically Gradius at its simplest form, with only the bare essentials being here as opposed to having many of the different advantages that past games have had. This doesn’t make the game bad at all though, because for what we have here, it is still a fun and enjoyable Gradius adventure.

Plus, there are some new aspects of the game that have never been seen before in the series at this point, such as with the option screen. Right before you start the game, you are put in an options screen, where you can decide what stage you want to play, what difficulty you want to play on, what buttons you want to do what, and even how many lives you wanna have before going into the game, even going all the way up to 99. This one screen right here makes this undeniably the most accessible Gradius game at this point, because not only are you able to experience the entire game without needing to worry about game overs, but you can also give yourself plenty of chances to not screw up, or you can make it so that you only get one chance, and you wanna do the ultimate challenge run. Even with all that in mind, the game itself is probably the easiest in the series, where I didn’t have that much trouble whatsoever, even though there were still plenty of hard parts that did cause me to die quite a few times. Or maybe have just played so many of these games at this point to where I am now amazing at them, but let’s be honest, that’s probably not what it is.

With all that being said though, this is, once again, a very basic Gradius game. Not only does it do nothing to enhance the gameplay any further then what we already have gotten, but many of the different features seen in other Gradius games, such as the choice of what upgrades you wanna have throughout the game, or even with certain types of stages, are completely absent here. Not to mention, this game CHUGS, with it constantly running at a stuttering frame rate, but then again, that is to be expected from a game like this that was placed on the Game Boy. Despite those few gripes, they didn’t stop me from having a pretty good time with this game, and it does have me looking forward to the sequel whenever I eventually decide to play it.

Overall, despite being yet another generic Gradius title through and through, for being the first handheld game in the series, Konami did a pretty good job with it, and it is a good game even over 30 years later. I would definitely recommend it for those who are big fans of the Gradius franchise, or even for those who are considering trying the series out, because this is what I would consider to be the perfect place to start, just for that options screen alone. Man, it feels good to finally be getting a break from one of these titles, rather than it kicking me around the room for a good hour or so until I beat it. Although, now that I say that, I imagine the next title is probably gonna ramp that difficulty right back up, so I will be ready to eat my words when the time comes.

Game #426

A long time ago, a little company by the name of Namco released a small little game known as Sim Drive at the JAMMA 1992 AM Show. As the title would apply, it was merely just a simple racing game, primarily meant to show off the technology that the game’s system board, the Namco System 22, was capable of, using gouraud shading and texture mapping to creature 3D environments that, nowadays, may look like nothing but a bunch of polygons to us, but back then, was revolutionary for the genre. While it was impressive, it was simply just a prototype for a bigger product, one that would be completed over the course of the next eight months in an effort to compete against other companies like Sega. This title would then be released to the public, and would simply be known as Ridge Racer… you know, RIIIIIIIIIIIIDGE RACEEEEEEEEEER! Remember that one?....................... look, if I didn’t make the joke, someone else was going to, so I had to take that chance.

Back before I had started reviewing games on this website, I hadn’t really played any other racing games that weren’t named Mario Kart, so I hadn’t really checked out any Ridge Racer game before this one. I had heard about it on several occasions, hearing about some of the titles being pretty good, but for the most part, I had assumed it was just your typical racing series with nothing too grand or incredible to show for it. But hey, you can’t judge a book by its cover as they say, so I decided to check out the first game in the series to see how it has held up, and yeah, at least for this title, it is just your standard arcade racing game. For what it is worth though, it is still a good game, and one that I had a decent amount of time with, but it is probably not gonna be a racing game that I am ever gonna go back to because of how barebones it ends up being at the end of the day.

The graphics are incredibly dated, which is to be expected from an early 3D racer, but for what it is worth, it was the best looking racer at the time, and it still holds up in some regards to this day, the music is pretty great, with there being several tracks that fit the vibe that the game is going for, and it gets you pumped to leave your competitors in the dust and maybe even smash into them, the control is extremely basic for an arcade racer, but one that does its job well, and the traction, speed, and turning on the car does feel pretty good while being manageable, and the gameplay is extremely basic, not offering much in terms of content, but offering plenty in terms of speed and several other factors.

The game is your typical arcade racing game, where you take control of either just one car, or in the case of the PS1 version, MANY cars (you know, just in case you get tired of the color red), take on plenty of different races of varying difficulty all taking place on… one track (we’ll get more into that later), race against plenty of different opponents that will do their best to keep you behind them at all times, make sure to turn and brake at appropriate times to make sure you don’t slam straight into the wall and look like an idiot, and blast your way all the way to first place and finish all three laps before time runs out to prove that you are the ridgiest racer that ever ridged a race. It has everything you could ever want from an arcade racer while also lacking everything else that you could want from one, but to its credit, one of the things that it does have going for it at that point in time.

Before this game, there weren’t many other 3D racers that could reach this high level of quality. The only other really noteworthy 3D racer before this was Virtua Racing, which, while being a nice stepping stone for the genre to leap into the next generation, now looks like a bunch of angles and shapes trying to trick you into thinking it is a racing game. With Ridge Racer, on the other hand, it looks much, MUCH better, not only having plenty of detail given to all of the cars, but also the many different environments that you will be driving past and through. In addition to this, there is also a good amount of realism that was implemented into the game as well. There were multiple gears that you would have to shift through as you would go faster, the turning and braking feels much heavier in several occasions, and when you collide into another car, not only does the other car swivel around due to the impact, but you yourself FEEL that same impact, especially when you are in first-person view. This may not seem like anything nowadays, but again, for the time it came out, you have to admire what it did for the genre as a whole.

However, that does not save it from being one of the most barebones and basic racing games I have ever played, even more so than other ones released before it. In this game, you only get one track to race on. ONE TRACK. Sure, there are varying difficulties that increase the speed you go on on this track, and there are additional modes like a Time Trial and, for the PS1 version, a mirror mode that allows you to experience the track in plenty of different ways, but at the end of the day, it is still just one fucking track. This game desperately needs more tracks to make it more desirable to play, and they don’t even need to be that heavily different from this one. They just need to be there. In addition to this, at the end of the day, it is still just a very basic racing game. There have been plenty of other games ever since, even in the same series, that have taken what this game does and have made many better racers as a result, so there really is no reason to come back to this one at the end of the day. I guess it could be good for those who are big fans of the series, but really, they could just play future, better titles and get the exact same experience from it.

Overall, despite the limited content it has and its basic nature, the original Ridge Racer is still a competent and fun racer, one that can provide you with a speed-filled good time for a while, but it doesn’t do much to make players want to come back for more. I would recommend it for fans of the Ridge Racer series, as well as those who love racing games in general, but for everyone else, there are definitely much better titles out there that you could play over this. Although, for those of you who actually are wanting to try it out at some point, let me give you a warning: don’t look directly into the eyes of the people that are in this game. I may have done this with the girl who holds up the sign at the beginning of the race, and now I fear that I may be getting a visit from her in the near future.

Game #427

If I ever want to play a "goalpost" Mario game (as in one of the games that are strictly level based) it will most likely always be 3D world.

It's such a great blend of 2D concepts into 3D levels and builds perfectly off of the 3DS game. Double Cherry and Cat Suit are both fantastic and add great gameplay variety.

The speed of the game really sells it though, it's the most fluid game in the series and racing through levels just FEELS good